Weird behavior!?!? Worried

So my beardies name is Biggie. I have never seen him drink water. I mist him a lot. Well today his urate was yellow which I heard was signs of dehydration. So I made a bath for him and let him soak. Well eventually I moved him to the sink cause I feel like it’s better cause it fits his size. Well for the first time that I have ever seen, he started drinking water (the water was warm) I was so shocked that I recorded. Then I got worried cause he stayed under a while, so I pulled him up to make sure he was okay, and he stayed up and then went back under for more. Then I lifted his head to check on him once more and he stayed up. Then I took him out to let him run around and it sounds as if he is coughing. And sometimes he will even open his mouth a lil and then I’ll hear the noise again, almost like he got too much water. Do I need to do anything! Take him to the vet? Or is he okay?!?!

Hi there, poor guy just had too much too quickly and may have aspirated some. Of course you didn't know but next time just put him in very shallow [ wrist deep] water , never enough that he could dunk his head under. Some dragons may cough like that after drinking a lot, even with shallow water so it's good to tilt him like a teapot, face down at a slight/moderate angle to see if any water drains out. Any time your dragon is soaked, pat him dry quickly and be sure to put him back in the tank where it's warm since they can't warm up on their own without a heat source.

Hi there,

I agree, he most likely aspirated a little bit of water. It happens from time to time but it's best to try to avoid it by following the suggestions AHBD mentioned. It seems more common when they are drinking for the first time, or drinking for extremely long periods of time.

It shouldn't cause any issue as it sounds like biggie got it pretty mild, but definitely making sure his temps are proper and possibly keeping him a bit warmer over night for a bit will help.

Just keep an eye on him and make sure it doesn't develop into anything else or get any worse.
Let us know

-Brandon